Cupid and Psyche
by A. Cullen
Summary: Mina is forced to work for the man who's property she damaged after a drunken car wreck. Katosan is an exacting boss and after a hard day, Mina encounters a coworker who helps cheer her up. The problem is she soon falls in love with both! AU MinaxKunz, RR
1. I Can't Get Started with You

**Author Note: **This is the first in a series of 'fairytale' based AU fics about each of the Shitennou/Senshi pairings. I've seen this kind of thing done before, and wanted to try my hand in it too, so I hope it goes over well. Of course, Mina and Kunz's is based on the proto-type 'beauty and the beast' myth of Cupid and Psyche, but I've tried to give it an original spin.

If this one is successful, I'll probably write and post the others.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon. And I do not condone riding or driving motorcycles without wearing helmets, or driving cars while under the influence of alcohol, or allowing minors into bars!

That being said - I hope you enjoy it. : )

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* * *

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_Cupid and Psyche_

**Chapter One**:

* * *

"Aino Minako." 

"Yes, your honor."

Mina, her clothes smelling of alcohol and cigarettes and crumpled from the cell she'd slept in last night, did her best to appear chipper and lovely in spite of these draw backs.

"You have heard the charges against you; that you did, on the night of October 3rd, leave an establishment called the Peacock's Tail and did then proceed to drive at a high rate of speed in a car belonging to one..." he glanced down at the papers in his hands, " Tsukino Usagi, under the influence of alcohol with a minor, the owner's younger bother, Tsukino Shingo. After running a red light the car then made an unauthorized stop inside the Kato Motorcycle and Automobile Factory, destroying the front lobby and causing damage of upwards of one million dollars."

Mina was trying to maintain her smile, but it was becoming very hard.

"How do you plead?"

Mina took a deep breath, closed her eyes and said:

"Guilty."

* * *

"Mina," Usagi cried, "I'm so sorry!!!" 

"It's alright," Mina sighed.

"No, it's not. I can't believe this happened!" Usagi screamed, then narrowed her eyes.

"It's all that stupid Shingo's fault, I'm going to skin him alive, I'll-!!!"

"Usagi!" Mina snapped, nervously eying the civil servant who was preparing to leave after explaining the community service process to Mina.

"Usagi, it was me driving the car, not Shingo," she spoke deliberately, "remember?"

Usagi shook her head and hit the table, but sat down without another word about her brother.

As the civil servant left, Usagi pushed the bowl of popcorn across the table to Mina.

"It's not fair, Mina, I can't bear you having to do this."

"Don't worry, it's not that long," Mina smiled, looking a lot more cheerful than she felt.

Suddenly her cell phone rang, she dug in her purse to find it and slid the receptor up.

"Hello? This is she."

Suddenly Mina frowned.

"Are you sure? I mean – I've never done that before – I have no experience with...oh, of course. Well, of course it's alright with me...if that's what Kato-san wants...I'll be there tomorrow. Thank you."

She clicked off the phone with a dazed expression on her face.

"Who was it?" Usagi asked through a mouthful of popcorn.

"It was Kato-san's assistant, she said Kato-san has dropped all the charges," Mina answered.

"Woo-hoo! See I told you everything would work out alright-"

"But he wants me to come in to work tomorrow, as part of my community service. He wants me to be his personal secretary..."

Usagi's eyes grew wide and she slowly sat down.

"What?"

_

* * *

_

_I hope I look professional_, Mina thought, adjusting her pale off white suit and skirt, the light pink blouse she wore underneath fluttered in the wind as she walked across the street toward the KatoAutomobile Manufacturer office. She tried not to think about the destroyed remains of the front lobby of the offices' twin Manufacturer's building across the street as she went through the side door to the office's reception desk.

She smiled at the receptionist and gave her name. The receptionist didn't seem surprised and handed her a folder, key and a slip of paper with the directions to Kato-san's office.

"He's expecting you," she said.

Mina tried not to gulp.

She followed the directions to the third floor, until she came to the administration section. Entering the front office she smiled bravely at the second receptionist and gave her name again.

"He's -"

"I know," Mina murmured, "expecting me."

"He's out to lunch, actually," the receptionist smiled thinly, "but if you'll wait inside his office, he should be back in about five minutes."

"Oh, great," she answered and sat down in the black chair beside the dark oak desk.

Kato-san's office was spare, neat – almost spartan in its cleanliness and simplicity of design. Behind the desk was a window in place of a fourth wall with a beautiful view of the river below.

_I wonder what Kato-san is like? Neat, apparently. I hope he isn't obsessive compulsive._

She imagined a twitchy little balding man in a tweed jacket and slacks which made her giggle.

She set her bags down and examined the pictures on Kato-san's desk. He only had two, one of a younger man with blonde hair who was standing with two men in a cherry tree grove. The other picture she couldn't quite see, so she reached to turn it to face her.

"What do you think of my mother, Aino-san?" a deep voice asked.

Mina was so surprised she dropped the picture with a loud clatter on top of the desk and knocked off the stack of letters that had been placed beside it.

"Oh-oh, I'm so sorry," she mumbled and bent to pick up the letters.

When she stood up she found herself face to face with a very tall man in a black, grey and pink pin-striped suit; a pink tie, immaculately tied; white hair that reached to his shoulders, straight and sleek; and sliver rimmed glasses resting on his aquiline nose. Not a hair out of place, not wrinkle in sight.

"H-hello," she stammered.

"I'm so glad you've already started working," he replied, glancing down at the letters in her hands, and his eyes behind the glasses glinted sardonically.

"Since you're obviously so efficient, I can see I won't have to spend valuable time showing you the ropes," he continued, walking to a file cabinet and selecting a file, "If it's alright with you, Aino-san, what say we just jump right in?"

"Sure." Mina smiled, but her heart was pattering insanely. _I can't even type fast!_ She quailed.

"Excellent," he said and his mouth turned up in a suppressed smile, or smirk.

"Just come this way, Aino-san," he called over his shoulder and walked out the door without looking to see if Mina would follow him. She shook herself and, grabbing her pen and notebook, rushed after him.

* * *

By the end of the day, Mina's head was reeling with thousands of details on types, makes and models of cars and motorcycles, and she never wanted to see another memo again. 

"Good work today, Aino-san," Kato-san said as he watched her massaging her head as she sat across from him.

Mina looked up and caught his gaze on her, but he didn't look away.

"You know, I've been meaning to ask you something, Kato-san," she began hesitantly.

She had the uncomfortable feeling of being a butterfly watched by an interested scientist.

"Why – Why did you want me to come here?"

He frowned and laced his long fingers together.

"I see. You mean why did I make you my secretary when you've obviously had no experience or, excuse my bluntness, any talent for it."

"Yes," she said, her teeth gritted. She was struggling to keep control of her temper which had just started to whisper to her that she ought to wipe that smirk off his face with a well placed kick.

"Ah," he commented mildly, "I don't think that's something you need to know to do your job, is it?"

"Now," he said, ignoring her murderous expression, "I expect you to have the report I asked for and the paper work I assigned you ready by tomorrow morning. That means on my desk at 8:00."

He tapped his desk top.

Mina nodded, clenching her fists.

"Thank you, Aino-san. You may go."

She stood, counted to three, then turned to leave.

"One more thing, Aino-san."

She took a deep breath and turned slowly to face him.

"You seem like a girl of average intelligence and integrity," he said, and his tone suggested this was a compliment, "so just how did you end up on the wrong side of the steering wheel in the middle of my factory lobby?"

Mina stared at him, her anger, humiliation and frustration with the recent weeks' events descending on her en masse until something snapped.

"That..." she said haughtily, "is something you don't need to know to do your job, is it Kato-san?"

She turned on her heel and stormed out the door. She didn't see Kato-san remove his glasses and sit staring at the door she'd slammed shut with a speculative, curious look in his green eyes.

* * *

"The man is the king of jerks, Usagi!" Mina yelled into her cell phone as she pounded down the street toward her favorite bar, dressed in jeans and a pretty yellow top that always made her feel better. 

"I'm sorry, Mina-chan," Usagi's voice soothed over the phone, "maybe tomorrow won't be so bad."

"Fat chance!" Mina snorted, then halted outside the bar's door.

"So can you come to the bar with me?"

"Oh...I'm sorry, Mina-chan, I promised Mamoru that we'd stay home tonight...and-"

"It's alright," Mina sighed, "I understand. Maybe I'll drop by later."

She entered the bar, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. There weren't many people in the place although it was already very late into the evening. Most of the patrons who were there were older couples, enjoying the music and a late night drink.

She sat down at the bar, ordered an amaretto sour and put her head on the table with a thunk.

"Bad day?" she heard the bar-tender ask. His voice was very deep.

"The worst." Mina answered, muffled by her arms and the table.

"Mind if I buy you a drink then, Aino-san?"

She looked up in surprise.

A young man was sitting facing the opposite wall with his elbows propped on the bar top, watching her with an amused expression.

His pale hair was swept out of his face with a hair band, but long tendrils hung in his face and slightly obscured his intense green eyes. His face was angular but not sharp, and his long legs were encased in jeans and boots. He wore a white undershirt beneath a messily unbuttoned over shirt that matched his eyes; the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and his slender hands were folded at his side.

_He's beautiful_. She thought dumbly.

"I thought you were the bar tender." she said inanely then cringed. _Stupid, stupid, stupid..._

He chuckled.

"I'm afraid I'm not," he said. Then, after she had sipped her drink he said:

"I suppose you're surprised to see me here."

Mina almost choked on her drink, and the young man leaned over to pat her on the back with a slightly worried, slightly humorous expression.

"I'm sorry," she said when she could speak again, "do I know you?"

He looked at her in genuine surprise.

"Don't you?" he asked in disbelief.

"I don't think so..." Mina replied. She racked her brain but it was dead for the night; having been over worked during the day all it wanted to do was sleep.

"Oh," he replied oddly, "but I'm..."

He broke off and Mina saw a strange, almost crafty look come into his eyes.

"I'm Kunz," he said and held out a hand.

She shook it gingerly.

"I'm Mina, but you already know that..."

"Now that you mention it," she said thoughtfully, "You do look kind of familiar."

Something akin to panic crept into his eyes.

"No, no, I don't think -" he began.

"Yeah, I know where I've seen you," she continued, smiling, "You were at the Kato office, right?"

"Uh, yes," he answered, "I work there...as...a motorcycle engineer."

"Oh," Mina smiled, "That sounds like fun."

"It is," he smiled, but he looked more relieved than enthusiastic.

"Do you like working there? At Kato, I mean?" he asked, sipping his beer. He kept sending searching glances her way when he thought she wasn't looking.

"Ah, it hasn't gone so well. Today was my first day," she admitted, "I've never done secretarial work before – in college I studied theatre and film."

"Really?" he asked, interestedly, "Why aren't you an actress, then?"

"Well, it's not that easy," she exclaimed defensively, but saw that he was laughing at her and joined in.

"It's a tough life and things haven't been going so well. After the accident it'll be almost impossible for me to get a decent job."

"That's too bad."

"So, how did you get into that accident in the first place?" he asked carefully, "You don't seem like the wild type."

Mina looked at her drink, her expression suddenly closed off.

"Haven't you heard the story?"

"Bits and pieces, but I like to get the best stories first hand."

"Well," she traced a finger around the rim of the glass, then suddenly she fixed him with her most direct stare.

"If I tell you," she began, "you have to promise you won't tell anyone, especially not at work."

He blinked, but nodded. His smile had something of a smirk in it, she noticed, it reminded her of someone but she couldn't place who it was.

"The truth is, I wasn't really driving the car."

His eyes narrowed.

"Then who-"

"My friend's little brother was driving," she murmured, "I'd had a drink with some friends at a local bar when I happened to see him toward the back of the room with some older boys. I told him to go home or I'd tell the management how old he was, but he only got mad so I forced him to drive home and I went with him to make sure he got there in one piece."

She smiled sourly and took a drink. Kunz continued to listen in silence, a sober expression on his face.

"On the way home, we got into an argument and he ran the red light. The car slipped on the curve, he panicked and we wound up in the lobby of the office building. When the cops got there I told them I was driving."

"You lied in court?"

"I didn't want the kid to have a blotch like that on his permanent record." she retorted, pricked by his disapproving tone.

"So you decided a blotch on your permanent record was just fine?" he countered.

"What does it matter?" she mumbled, "It's done."

They sat in silence and Mina, despite the fact that she was sitting beside the best looking young man she'd seen in at least five months, felt depressed.

"Listen," he said quietly, "it's none of my business, and I still think what you did was stupid...but it was also very brave."

"Thanks," she muttered glumly.

"Tell you what," he said suddenly, "you want to do something fun?"

"Like what?" she asked, "You're not a crazy stalker are you?"

He laughed.

"No, I promise I'm not. But if I am you know where I work and you can always have the police come to arrest me, right?"

"I guess," she nodded, smiling slightly.

"Right, so do you have a jacket? You might get a little cold."

"Where are we going?" Mina retorted, "The North Pole?"

"Come on."

He paid the bar tender for both their drinks, grabbed her hand, and led her out of the bar to a sleek blue motorcycle parked on the curb.

"Wow," Mina said, staring at the bike, "this is the newest model – you must be a millionaire."

"Eh- company privileges," he muttered, then handed her his jacket. She shrugged her arms into the brown leather and smelled a soft, fresh scent.

_He smells nice_, she thought. _It'll be way too sad if he's a stalker._

"Alright, are you ready?"

She looked at him and held her arms up as the sleeves of his jacket dangled quite a number of inches past her hands. He grinned.

"You're a little small, aren't you?"

"No, you're too big," she replied, "now move over."

She climbed on behind him and gingerly put her arms around his waist. He started the bike, and over the noise of the engine she said:

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise."

Mina was about to reply but closed her mouth. She considered that her day had been so bad thus far - she might as well make the most of a random encounter with a handsome, apparently somewhat wealthy co-worker, and promptly held on as they pulled out onto the street and sped away.

* * *

Mina got home around two-thirty in the morning and still couldn't go to sleep for thinking over everything she and Kunz had talked about. It seemed like they had told each other their life stories over the course of one night. 

_That's a bit scary_. She thought. But there was a smile on her lips as she drifted to sleep.

Of course, she completely forgot to do any of the work Kato-san had asked her to do...


	2. I've Got A Crush on You

_I realize, in continuing this story, that I have made Kunzite a bit more gregarious than usual. But I like to think that he would be, if he ever really got the chance to let himself go, a little more talkative and playful. Oh, well._

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* * *

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_Cupid and Psyche_

**Chapter Two -**

* * *

"You're late, Aino-san." 

The immaculately dressed Kato-san sat at his desk, not bothering to look up as Mina dragged herself into the room.

"I'm sorry," she yawned.

"Do you have the documents I asked for?"

Mina's eyes grew wide and she blushed.

"Oh, no!"

Kato-san sighed and rubbed his temple in frustration.

"I really can't believe this," he said, shaking his head, "It isn't as though I asked you to build the Great Wall or spin straw into gold."

"I know," Mina mumbled. She actually felt contrite, but his next words sparked her ire.

"So what were you up to last night?" he asked.

"What?"

"You obviously weren't working, I want to know what was so interesting that it couldn't be put off?"

"Excuse me, Kato-san, but you can't expect me to answer such a question."

She eyed him angrily, her blue eyes flashing.

"Were you out somewhere you shouldn't have been? Is that why you refuse to tell me?" he accused in his mildly mocking voice.

"Where I was isn't any of your business."

"But you've made it my business by making it more important than my actual business."

Mina blinked, trying to do the mental jumping jacks to figure out his last statement.

"That's-" she began.

"Never mind, I'm sure you were out with your boyfriend," he concluded, infuriating her further by the superior look in his eyes, "girls like you always are."

"Just what is that supposed to mean?!" she growled, throwing her satchel on the ground.

Kato-san raised his eyebrows.

"I was pointing out that attractive women are usually busy in the evenings. I thought you'd take it as a compliment, Aino-san."

His innocent expression threw her yet again.

"Oh," she stuttered, "Th-thanks."

_What is with this guy?_

She didn't catch the extremely amused expression that slid off Kato-san's face when she looked back up at him.

"Well, are you -" he stifled a yawn, "ready to begin the day?"

She pulled out her notebook, memo-pad and pencil.

"Yes," she said in a fair imitation of a chipper tone.

"Excellent, then the first thing you can do is bring me some coffee."

Mina stuffed her things back into her bag with a dark face and marched out of the office to fetch Kato-san's coffee.

* * *

_I'm losing it_, he thought. 

Kato-san removed his glasses as he watched Mina's retreating, haughty figure. He smiled and rubbed his eyes.

After last night he was having trouble not falling asleep where he sat.

He still found it difficult to believe that Mina had yet to realize...

That thought made him consider his present problem.

_That was a really stupid thing to do, Kunzite_, he told himself.

He pulled out a handkerchief and polished his glasses as he reflected on the problem at hand.

When he'd hear that the person who'd decimated his building was a young woman just out of college, he felt he might set a good example by hiring her as his secretary - instilling this unfortunate reprobate with a sense of responsibility, teaching her first hand how to work hard. That was why he'd dropped the case and asked for her to work for him.

He'd made sure her first day would be one she wouldn't forget.

But after accidentally seeing her in the bar, he'd felt a bit sorry for her and wanted, initially, merely to cheer her up. The fact that she hadn't recognized him had only amused him and seemed very characteristic of her; he had meant to tease her about it later. But after he'd realized the extent to which she had subjected herself to punishment for the sake of that kid, he'd realized he had completely misjudged her. And that made him extremely curious to find out what she was really like.

Having taken over his father's company at a very early age, the burden of responsibility had been placed on his shoulders and remained there for quite some time. His professional demeanor and meticulous habits were born out of an effort to become an excellent leader, and as a consequence he spent almost all of his time running the company and discipling himself to be a better leader. He rarely went out, had very few close friends, and almost never broke the mask of professional distance. But even on her first day in the office, Mina had drawn surprising reactions out of him.

He hadn't meant for them to spend so much time together, or to deceive her, but somehow, as she continued to talk to him so openly that night, and he found himself able to respond honestly, he'd realized that the deception ironically provided him with the opportunity to be himself for the first time in a long time.

And the prospect of spending time with her as 'Kunz' was growing more and more attractive and even a little... exciting.

"Do you like it black or with cream?"

Kunzite snapped to attention, hastily shoving his glasses back on, but not before Mina got a good look at him without them.

_That's odd_. She frowned.

"Black will be fine, thank you Aino-san."

_I absolutely will **not** see her again. _He vowed. _Last night was the first and last time._

They spent the rest of the day in a tentative, tacit silence.

* * *

"Can you believe that he asked me that!?" Mina exclaimed to Kunz as the two of them walked along the bridge overlooking the river by the Kato-office that night. 

Kunzite winced at her tone of outrage but didn't say anything. He was all too aware that he was secretly pleased at just listening to her yell.

Against all his former good intentions, he had succumbed to temptation and appeared outside the building on his motorcycle as she left work. He'd had to run home early to change and avoid his other employees, but now, walking beside her and watching her pace above him on the edge of the railing as they walked across the bridge, he felt the rush well worth it.

She had taken off her heels and her suit coat and slung them over her shoulder and was balancing as she walked on the rail, chattering away.

"- And he's such a..."

"Jerk?" he suggested.

She looked at him and laughed, but lost her balance at the same time.

He caught her easily with one arm and steadied her on the bridge.

They looked at each other for a very small moment, and he caught himself leaning toward her.

With a shake he drew back.

_What was that?_ Mina wondered.

They continued walking side by side, a bit awkwardly.

"So, why haven't I seen you at work?" she asked to break the tension.

"I went by the engineering offices today, but I didn't see your name anywhere."

"Um," he coughed, "That's because my office is on a different floor - there wasn't enough room for me on the second floor."

"Typical Kato-san style of management." She snorted.

"You know, you talk about Kato-san so often..." he remarked slyly.

"Yeah, because he makes me want to tear my hair out."

"Are you sure that's the only reason?"

She stopped and looked at him with disgust.

"There's no way in a million-trillion years I would ever be interested in that guy!" she shouted, causing a couple on the opposite side of the bridge to glance at them, startled.

"Alright, alright," he laughed, "I take it back."

"But I wonder," she added, and her smile returned, "why you would ask me that. You almost sound...jealous."

His heart seemed to speed up. Apparently she read something in his expression that she found amusing, because her smile grew.

"You are jealous." she chuckled.

"What if I am?" he asked quietly.

Her smile faded and she looked at him curiously.

"Really?"

"Yes."

They both tried to read each other's expressions, trying to guess what to do next.

"Mina," Kunzite said, unconsciously moving closer to her, "I think I ought to tell you something."

"I like you." she said, suddenly.

"I -What?" he asked.

"I like you," she repeated, releasing a long breath. Then she smiled.

"Wow, I feel so much better." she said, "that was a lot easier than I thought it would be."

"You like me?" he asked, feeling like his brain had stopped working momentarily.

"I kept thinking it was going to be really awkward," she continued, ignoring his questions, "but it just came right out. That's amazing."

His brain suddenly clicked back on. He began furiously deliberating with himself.

"You know, on television they make it look so easy, but it isn't really. It's much harder, before you do it, I mean," she continued, "but now I feel just fine. I didn't meant to tell you so soon. I was going to wait a little while, but-"

He made a decision.

"Mina, stop talking." he commanded.

She looked at him puzzled but he leaned a few more inches down and kissed her before she could ask any more questions.

_I'll sort it out_, he thought, distractedly, _I'll figure it out...tomorrow._


	3. Let's Misbehave

_Cupid and Psyche_

**Chapter Three -**

* * *

Despite being a little sleepy, Mina was whistling as she came through the door of Kato-san's office with a cup of coffee. 

She set it on his desk, barely glancing at him, and perched in her seat, riffling through her memos.

"Why are you in such a good mood, Aino-san?"

"If," he added grimly, "I am allowed access to that information."

Mina smiled brightly.

"Of course not, Kato-san," she replied, "and you may be as unpleasant as you please today."

She looked back at her pad of paper, humming as she checked off the messages.

He couldn't help smirking when she wasn't looking. Or admiring the way her blue suit set off the color of her eyes.

_I've got to tell her today._ He reminded himself. _After work. She looks happy enough...maybe she won't kill me..._

"Well, whatever the reason, I'm glad you're in a good mood because we're going to need all the cheerfulness we can get today."

She stopped writing and looked up inquiringly.

"Today is inventory day," he remarked.

They walked from office to office checking every report, listening to every account of production – Mina's hands were cramped from taking notes, and her feet were weeping in pain.

Kunzite glanced at her, then pulled out a chair and motioned for her to sit while he leaned against the wall.

_That was nice._ Mina thought, puzzled, _He must have a cold or something._

As she rose at the end of the private meeting, she was halted by his hand.

"Why don't you sit this next one out?" he suggested. His expression was nearly one of concern.

"But, how will you take notes?"

"Well, despite what you may think, Aino-san," he returned, "I can write." He picked up her pad and pencil and walked to the next office, leaving her to sit in the hall and stare at him.

_Why is he suddenly being so nice to me?_ She wondered.

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. Kato-san was a hard-hearted, scrupulous boss and she couldn't trust him not to be up to something that would end with her embarrassment.

_Don't think you can fool me so easily, Kato-san_, she warned.

"Hey, aren't you Kato-san's secretary?"

She looked up to see an older man, slightly balding, dressed in a greyish brown suit and tie.

"Yes."

He grinned at her, and suddenly little warning bells began to tinkle in her head. She leaned as far back as she could against the chair.

"You were the one who wrecked your car, aren't you honey?" he asked sympathetically.

"I'm very busy," she told him. He didn't take the hint, and in fact sat down beside her. She edged further away.

"I'm sure you are," he nodded, "I just wanted to let you know that I know the old man can be very...harsh sometimes, right? Well, if you ever feel like you need some time to unwind, feel free to," here he touched her shoulder and began to try to put his arm around her on the backs of their chairs, "call me anytime, ok?"

"That won't be necessary, thanks," she chirped, her fingers were really itching to hit him, but she knew it would be better if she didn't lose her temper in the office. She rose to go but his arm around her pulled her back down.

"Wait a second, honey -" he began then yelped as cold water fell onto his lap.

Mina looked up to see the frowning face of Kato-san – in his hand was an empty cup.

"I'm very sorry," he apologized solemnly, "my hand slipped. May I help you find a new suit, Nakamura-san?"

"No, no, that's fine, excuse me Kato-san," the older man stuttered in embarrassment and irritation. He stalked off angrily toward the men's room.

"I didn't need your help," Mina snipped, annoyed.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about, Aino-san. I apologize, I meant to bring you some water but...you see how clumsy I am."

He shrugged, but she thought she detected an amused glint.

"Thank you," she said, grudgingly.

"For spilling your water?" he asked, surprised, "You are too kind, Aino-san."

"Oh, just shut up and let's get on with the reports," she snapped. He smiled behind her back as he followed her to their next meeting.

* * *

They were very tired by the end of the day, both from the rigors of the reports and from a continued lack of sleep. 

Mina felt confused. Despite what his previous behavior had suggested, Kato-san had continued to be unwaveringly polite and kind to her throughout the day. At lunch he'd found the drink she'd been wanting, even though the machine was supposedly out. During their meetings he'd provided her with chairs and, in some cases, even cushions, to sit on. And he'd arranged for her to leave early so that she could go home and rest, all because she'd sneezed once in his presence.

It was getting very irritating.

"I hope you will rest yourself properly, Aino-san," he commented as she put her things in her bags.

"And, if I may suggest it -"

"Don't -"

"You may want to refrain from going out tonight." he added, unperturbed, "you should probably go to bed early."

"Alright," she said, slamming her bag down on the floor, "That's it."

"What are you up to in your sneaky reptile mind?" she hissed, pointing her finger at him accusingly.

Kato-san blinked.

"What can you possibly mean by that, Aino-san?"

"All day you've treated me like I'm made out of porcelain – I thought you couldn't stand me, so why are you suddenly being so nice!" she demanded.

He looked at her with an odd expression on his face.

"You think I can't stand you, Aino-san?" he asked quietly.

Mina felt very confused, but her anger was still high and her sleep deprivation was adding to it.

"Yes! Because the minute I came here you were rude to me. You knew I didn't know how to be a secretary but you gave me the entire work load without explanation. You constantly insult me and pry into my private life – and you obviously think I'm just some air-headed kid who isn't fit to breath the same air as you!"

She realized this last accusation was a bit over the top, but she also felt like crying so she didn't take it back.

"I had no idea you felt this way," he said.

_Is he making fun of me?_ She thought, dumbfounded.

"Stop making fun of me!" she yelled, and before she could really think about what she was doing, she picked up the nearest object – which happened to be her cell phone – and hurled it at him.

Kato-san tried to duck and catch it at the same time, and ended up falling over backwards, saving the cell phone and hitting his head on the back of the chair and the floor with a loud thwack.

Mina put a hand to her mouth, frozen.

"K-kato-san?" she asked.

She edged around the desk and saw him lying on the floor, her cell phone still clutched in his hand, and a large bruise beginning to form on his forehead as he rolled over woozily.

"I think I fell down," he marveled, blinking at her as though he was trying to focus.

"Are you alright, Kato-san?" she asked, crouching down beside him and smoothing the hair away from his forehead to get a better look at the bruise.

"I think so," he murmured, staring at her face.

As she bent closer to inspect the bruise, he suddenly leaned forward and kissed her, very lightly.

She was so surprised that she immediately jumped backward and he fell forward and passed out on the floor.

When Kunzite opened his eyes, he realized he had a very bad headache. He felt something cool on his forehead and tried to see what it was, which just made his head hurt more.

"Lie still," someone said.

"Mina?" he asked.

"It's Aino-san, I'm here." He sighed and relaxed on what felt like his office couch.

"Why does my head hurt?" he asked, trying to feel the bump. She caught his fingers and forced his hand back to his side.

"You don't listen very well, do you?" she asked, but her tone sounded more amused than angry.

"We were arguing and I -uh- threw my phone at you."

"You did?" he asked, "Why?"

"I was mad."

"Why?"

"Never mind," she answered, "the point is you fell and bumped your head. But I don't think it's anything serious."

"Oh, good." He frowned, his vision was starting to clear and he could see her face bending over him with a worried expression in her blue eyes.

"What happened to your cell phone?" he asked.

She laughed.

"You saved it," she said, "thank you, Kato-san. It's very grateful to you."

"Anytime," he smiled.

For some reason she blushed suddenly and looked away.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Mina answered.

She was thinking about their kiss. _What in the world was he thinking?_ She asked herself. _Well, I guess technically he wasn't thinking, but still...that was weird._

She shivered. _How gross_, she reassured herself. She hadn't liked it at all._ Kunz kisses much better._

_Why am I arguing with myself over this?_ she began to feel panicked.

"Over what?" Kunzite asked.

"What?!" she yelped, "Oh, nothing. I – I feel bad for hitting you. I mean, for making you fall out of your chair."

"It's alright, don't worry about me. I'll be fine." He sat up suddenly and swayed a bit, but remained up right.

"I told you to sit still."

"But as you pointed out," he replied, "I don't listen very well."

She snorted. _Looks like he feels better now. He isn't so bad looking._ Where had that thought come from?

"Well, if you think you'll be alright, I'm going to go home now." she remarked, standing up and going to look for her bag.

"You're leaving?"

"Yes."

She stood awkwardly clutching her bag. For some reason, she felt a strange pull to stay.

_But I want to see Kunz tonight, _she reasoned, _I might miss him if I don't hurry. _But the more she looked at him, the more she wanted to stay and make sure he took care of himself. _That's funny..._she thought_, I almost sound like I..._she made a mental gasp.

"Oh, well, thank you," he said, and smoothed his hair back in one hand to get it out of his eyes as he looked at her.

Something clicked.

_I'm going crazy_. She thought as she stared at him in amazement.

With his hair pulled back and his glasses removed (she'd taken them off when she'd put the cloth on his head) and his usually impeccably clothes a bit mussed, he looked almost exactly like -

"I have to go now," Mina said, "Bye."

She hurried out the door.

_

* * *

_

_This can't be happening._ She wailed, _It's just a coincidence. They happen to look alike. They happen to work in the same office building. Coincidence!_

She took a few jaunts beside the river to calm herself.

_I don't feel anything for Kato-san, besides anger. I only feel anger and dislike. _

_I hope he's alright._

_That was guilt!_ She defended herself quickly. _Survivor's guilt – I mean, uh whatever. I don't like him...do I?_

_When Kunz gets here, then I'll know that it's just a coincidence. Kato-san can't even begin to compare to Kunz._

She nodded brightly and settled down to wait.

After three hours she realized, rather gloomily, that Kunz was probably not coming.

_Why didn't we exchange cell phone numbers!?_ She shrieked mentally, cursing her lack of foresight.

She stood up and began the walk home to her apartment.

_I wonder why he isn't here tonight? He never said anything about having business or work, or plans._

_Maybe he's had an accident!_ She thought, suddenly.

_One of the engines he's been working on exploded and he was knocked unconscious and they took him to the hospital. And he's lost his memory and that's why he hasn't called the office to tell me!_

She drew in a few deep breaths.

_That's ridiculous. _Her more rational side said, _he probably just forgot to mention that he was busy tonight._

_Or, _a little voice suggested_, he couldn't come because... he isn't feeling well._

"He did sneeze once, while we were by the river last night," she agreed.

_That's true,_ the voice went on, _or maybe he had a small accident. Maybe he fell and bumped his head._

Mina froze in the middle of the side walk as night time pedestrians walked around her, looking at her curiously.

_No way_.

But her mind began to put the pieces together one by one.

She always saw Kato-san during the day, she always saw Kunz at night. She'd never found Kunz's office. He had a company motorcycle and obviously was well off. Kato-san had kissed her...and to her surprise she hadn't disliked it as much as she'd declared.

_Now that I think about it he looked really tired these last few days._

She remembered when she 'd first met Kunz at the bar. He'd seemed so familiar and acted like she should know him.

Her eyes narrowed suddenly and her fists clenched on her bag.

"I'm going to kill him!" she yelled. The people around her edged nervously toward the other side of the street.

_There's only one way to know for sure_, she realized.

She marched down the side walk.


	4. Don't Get Around Much Anymore

Warning: There is fluff at the end. Maybe too much...I can't tell. I have no inbuilt fluff radar, sadly. I don't know how I feel about this one. Is it too boring and descriptive? I like the ending, but it might be too abrupt...enough whining! Enjoy. : )

_

* * *

_

_Cupid and Psyche_

**Chapter Four - **

* * *

After checking in briefly at a quick clinic to make sure he didn't have a concussion, Kunzite had headed home, taken some aspirin and gone to bed. 

He woke up in the early moments of the dawn and stared at his ceiling.

_Mina!_ He thought and sat up straight in bed.

_She probably waited for me last night. _

He put his head in his hands and rubbed his eyes. He knew he had to tell her today. Even if it meant telling her in the office – the deception was too hard to continue. And he didn't want it to continue.

It had been hard enough to work with her yesterday without taking every opportunity that prevented itself to talk with her, or touch her. As it was he'd really only succeeded in making her lose her temper and throw her cell phone at his head.

He squinted in concentration, trying to remember what had happened after that, but his memory was foggy and piecemeal.

He remembered her face staring at him, her hand brushing his hair out of his eyes, and...

_Did I kiss her?_

He shook his head. That had to be his imagination.

As he got ready for the day he prepared his explanation to her in his mind.

* * *

"Good morning, Kato-san," Mina called cheerily as she walked through his door. 

He glanced up, startled by her exuberance. He had a bandage on his forehead, under his hair, and he was trying not to rub it.

"How are you this morning, sir?" she asked as she put his coffee on the table.

"I'm...fine, thank you, Aino-san," he answered, hesitantly. He'd never seen her in a better mood.

"Excellent!" she exclaimed, "I'm glad to hear it."

"Well?" she asked after he'd stared at her for a moment in wondering silence.

"Huh?"

"Aren't you going to ask me how I am?"

"Oh, of course, how are you today, Aino-san?"

"I'm...Marvelous!" she replied, and giggled.

"Uh...may I ask why?" he questioned, "Did you have a nice night?"

"I had a wonderful night," she replied, "thank you for asking."

"You did?" he put his coffee down sharply.

"What did you do? If I may inquire."

"You may," she said, putting her things in order, "I went out with a friend of mine."

"A friend?" he asked suspiciously.

Mina pretended not to notice but continued blithely:

"Yes, a friend. We went to a movie, then we went for a walk in the park. And then a ride on his motorcycle."

"Oh, really?" He was frowning darkly, and Mina was finding it difficult to control herself.

"It was so much fun. The most fun I've had in years, actually. And later we went back to his house."

"You did, did you?" He was standing up now, his coffee forgotten He adjusted his glasses and put his hands on his hips.

"Yes," she answered innocently.

"Is something wrong, Kato-san?"

"What is this friend's name?" he asked, ignoring her question.

"He works here in your department."

"Is it Hoshi-san?" He snapped, "Or Fujiwara-san? Don't tell me that ridiculous Nakamura -"

"Actually, his name is Kunz and he works in your engineering department."

He stared at her in an appalled silence.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you right."

"Kunz-san, he's a motorcycle engineer."

"You were out with him last night?"

Mina smiled primly and sat down.

"Are you sure?" he asked, still not quite understanding how the the impossible had happened.

"Why? Don't you believe me?" she said, fixing him with a pointed stare.

"Well..." he trailed off. This was not how he'd imagined telling her but...

"You couldn't have been, because...there is no Kunz-san...I made him up."

"Oh, did you?"

Something about the suddenly deadly tone of her voice made him instinctively retreat toward the back window.

"Ah, let me explain," he began.

The look on her face – calm, collected, and focused – was more intimidating than if she had simply been angry enough to throw a cell phone at him.

"So when were you going to tell me about your colossal joke, Kato-san?"

"Kami-sama, Mina, it wasn't like that-"

"I can't believe it took me so long to figure it out. I really liked you, you know?" she continued, locking him in a fierce gaze, "So tell me, is this something you do all the time? Pretend to be two people so you can show someone how stupid they are?"

"No," he moved to stand in front of her.

"It's not like that. At first, when you didn't recognize me, I was just going to make a joke out of that, but -" he broke off as her face darkened, "listen, Mina, please. When I said that I liked you, I was telling the truth. I was afraid because we got off to such a bad start..."

"Who's fault was that?"

"Mine," he acknowledged willingly, "I thought, before you came here, that you were just some wild, stupid kid. And I wanted to teach you a lesson. But I found out that I was wrong right away."

"You're the most responsible person I've ever met," he added, "when it comes to looking after other people."

"Don't flatter me," she murmured, "just tell me the truth."

"The only thing I ever lied to you about was my name." he said quietly.

Mina looked at the floor for a long, silent moment, while he waited, holding his breath.

"Thank you for telling me the truth, Kato-san." she said at last, finally looking up.

"I'm going to ask the court if they will re-assign me to community service; I'll come back to get my things."

She lifted her bag.

"Thank you for...your consideration, Kato-san. I really have enjoyed working for you." she bowed and walked out before he could find his voice.

He walked in a daze around his desk to the window and stared out at the river for a long time.

* * *

"I can't believe the nerve of that guy," Makoto said, plopping a box of Kleenex and a bowl of ice cream beside Mina. 

She, Usagi and Makoto were sitting around Makoto's kitchen table with three bowls of ice cream and two of Makoto's left over cakes.

"I know," Mina sniffed, blowing her nose, "and I bought a new suit too. And it looked good."

"Don't think about it, Mina," Usagi urged.

"Sounds to me like this guy is real creep," Makoto mused as she shoved cake onto Usagi's plate.

"I mean, what kind of jack ass pretends to be two different people? What is he, Jekyll and Hyde?"

"What if he's some kind of serial killer who pretends to be a normal business man, like in that American movie you made me go see -" Usagi began, pointing an accusatory finger at Makoto.

"It wasn't that scary."

"It was terrifying, and Rei walked out. I wanted to bury my head in the popcorn tub."

"You did bury your head in the popcorn tub." Makoto pointed out.

"Kunz isn't a serial killer," Mina replied, slightly irritated.

"But you have to admit what he did was weird."

"It wasn't weird," Mina said defensively, "it was quite understandable in light of the facts. He was afraid that I would reject him if I knew who he really was – and he was right, I would have."

"Are you...defending him?" Makoto asked with a sly look at Usagi.

Mina turned a little pink.

"No."

"So if I said he was ugly, rude and chauvinistic -"

"He's not! He's very polite, extremely courteous and responsible. And he's very handsome!"

"Uh-huh." Makoto grinned at her.

"Are you really sure you don't like this guy?" Usagi asked, suddenly serious.

"Because if you really do like him," she added, "it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world."

"Even if he is a possible serial killer." Makoto remarked.

"Stop calling him that!" Mina yelled, then put her hands to her mouth.

"I think..." she said after a moment of embarrassed quiet, "that I need to...do something...I'll see you guys later."

"Have fun!" Makoto called cheerfully as Mina slammed the door.

* * *

Mina arrived at the office late in the afternoon. It had been three days since she'd last seen Kato-san, and she was suddenly very nervous about meeting him again. 

_He's probably really mad at me._ She considered. _But I don't care._

The receptionist told her that he hadn't been to work that day. Or the day before.

"Is he on vacation?" she asked.

"He took sick leave, I believe, miss." she replied, but she was obviously very curious about Mina's questions.

"Oh, I'll come back tomorrow then, thank you."

She walked out of the office.

_Sick leave?_ She pondered, _Maybe I hit him harder than I thought._

_Is there such a thing as a delayed concussion?_

She walked down the street, but the day was pleasant, so she decided to take a detour through the park. As she came to the bridge, the sudden memory of their last outing together sprang to her mind.

She sighed and leaned against the bridge railing, putting her head on her arms.

_It doesn't seem like Kunz-san to take off just because he's sick._

Her mind began to suggest various gruesome and melodramatic explanations for his disappearance – suicide notes, random threats, religious vows, etc...

"This is horrible." She grumped.

Looking out she caught sight of a man lying beside the river bank, stretched out in the shade of a nearby tree. He seemed to be asleep.

Beside him was a motorcycle.

Mina gasped.

_That's his motorcycle!_

She ran to the other end of the bridge to get a closer look.

The man had pale hair and a wore a green shirt. He was staring up at the sky and beside him she saw a bottle of pills.

Her brain instantly connected all these things into one conclusion.

"Kato-san!" she yelled, and ran un-seeing off the bridge and down the bank, until she fell next to him.

* * *

Kunzite lay with his eyes closed, his i-pod playing a particularly lovely Chopin nocturne. 

He was contemplating how long he should wait until he attempted another apology. Obviously he wasn't giving up without a very strenuous fight – it wasn't in his nature to lose.

He was, at that moment, awakened by a splash of cold, slimy river water.

Opening his eyes and coughing, he sat up and shook his head.

"What's going on?" he demanded, yanking the ear phones out of his ears.

"Mina?" he said in complete surprise, "What are you doing here?"

"And why did you throw water on me?" he asked suspiciously.

Mina flung herself at him, hugging him as tightly as she could. He was shocked at first, but returned the embrace hesitantly.

"I thought you were dead!" she cried.

"Why would you think that?" he asked, confused.

"You were just lying here with those pills and – your receptionist said you hadn't come into work -"

"This is aspirin," he said, releasing her with one arm in order to show her the bottle, "it's for my head."

"Oh." Mina said in a small voice and began to release him.

"Wait just a second," he requested, and held on to her, pulling back to look her in the face.

"Why did you come here? Were you going to single handedly rescue me?"

"I don't want to discuss it," she said, her face turning a little red.

He started smirking.

"If you must know, I came back to get my stuff out of your office," she replied, haughtily.

"So what are you doing here? Why didn't you just go home?" He asked, fixing her with a penetrating look.

"Because..." she trailed off, "it's a nice day..."

"You weren't worried about me, were you?" he suggested casually.

"No!"

"Are you sure?"

She sighed and and let her forehead drop with a thunk on his shoulder.

"Yes." she mumbled.

"What's that?" since she was no longer looking at him, he let himself smirk but tried very hard not to laugh at her.

"Yes, I was worried about you," she muttered, "are you happy?"

"Extremely." He hugged her with both arms.

"Does this mean I'm forgiven?" he asked after a moment.

"Maybe," she replied.

He kissed her cheek.

"Probably."

He kissed her again.

"Oh, alright, fine!" She exclaimed.

But she was laughing.

* * *

Epilogue is coming.


	5. Let's Face the Music and Dance

_Cupid and Psyche_

**Epilogue**

* * *

"Where did you put the chocolate?" she hissed. 

"Hush, Mina, here it is." Kunzite whispered, trying to make his girlfriend of two months sit still in the seat.

The orchestra was already beginning the overture to Beethoven's _Fidelio_ .

_Maybe asking Mina to an opera wasn't the best of ideas_, he reflected.

He turned to look at her and changed his mind as he saw her wide blue eyes fixed with anticipation on the red curtain of the opera stage.

He casually put an arm around the back of her chair and tried not to smile too wide when she leaned in.

The opera began, and so did Mina's questions. Normally this would have annoyed him since this opera and the lead soprano in particular were his favorites, but Mina was so earnest that he found it easier to put aside his longing to hear the opera uninterrupted.

"What are they saying?"

He explained the plot, and the scene to her briefly.

She sighed happily.

"That's beautiful."

Kunzite had other opinions on beauty that night which included the gold dress Mina was wearing on her slim form, but as usual he kept those thoughts to himself.

At intermission they rose to stretch their legs and he offered to get her some refreshment.

She was about to tell him what she wanted when she suddenly put a hand on his arm.

"Hey, look," she said, and he turned to look, "isn't that your friend?"

"Yes, it is, and yours as well. Hino-san, isn't it?" He said as he caught sight of Jaedite and Rei sitting a few rows ahead of them, engaged in conversation.

"Interesting," Mina smiled.

_I know that tone._ Kunzite frowned.

"Mina, don't be too quick -"

"Rei-chan and your friend are totally dating in secret!" she declared excitedly.

"I knew there must be something, she's been acting really strange lately. And this is why."

He desperately tried to get her to lower her voice.

"Maybe it isn't -"

"You have to spy on them." She commanded.

He blinked.

"Go get some opera goggles."

"Glasses?"

"Exactly."

"But, Mina-"

"Hurry!" Mina urged, pushing him toward the booth. He sighed.

Usually he would have been firmer about the impossibility of spying on one's friend, but honestly, he was a little curious. He had known Jaedite for many years, they'd gone to the same high school and become friends through a club there. But though he called Jaedite a friend, the truth was that no one ever got very close to that young man. What little he knew about Jaedite's life led him to believe that the young man had had a very lonely childhood, and as a result his natural reticence and keen intellect had matured into a cold and calculating persona. And Kunzite had never known him to show any interest in women at all.

He returned with the glasses and gave them, rather unwillingly, to Mina. She held them up and, for the rest of intermission, watched everything Jaedite and Rei did together.

When it was over, and the second act began, he found her frowning fitfully.

"I don't get it," she said, "they're dressed up at the opera, which is obviously a date, but they aren't being lovey-dovey at all."

"Maybe it isn't a date," he replied pointedly.

"Impossible. Rei-chan hates men, she wouldn't go out with one willingly for anything less than a date."

"She doesn't like men?" he asked, surprised.

This really threw him. Why were two people who distrusted and disliked the opposite sex sitting together at an opera? Could it actually have been a coincidence?

He sat back down to ponder this riddle through the second act, and when that was over he found that Mina had fallen asleep on his shoulder.

"So much for Beethoven," he murmured wryly.

He gently pulled her wrap around her shoulders, gathered their things and guided her out of the theatre toward the parking deck.

"It's such a nice night," she yawned, "let's stay out a little bit more."

He nodded.

"Where would you like to go?"

"I don't care, anywhere you're going." She grabbed his arm in both of hers and they walked, talking softly, through the streets to a nearby shopping plaza with a fountain in the center. Because of the time, the streets were nearly deserted and the lights from the shops were hazy and flickering.

"You know, Mina -" he cleared his throat, and put a hand in his pocket, "I've been meaning to talk to you about something -"

"Let's dance!" Mina exclaimed.

"What?"

"There's no one around, and that song they're playing over the speakers is a waltz, so let's dance."

"Mina, I don't know how to dance." he pointed out calmly.

"Well, I'll teach you," she answered, and pulled his hands and arms around her waist.

"See, it isn't hard," she sang, smiling.

"I feel silly," he declared, soberly.

"You look silly!"

She threw back her head and laughed and after a while he joined in.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" she asked after a moment.

"Hm?" His face became grave as he remembered and he stopped dancing.

"I've been thinking that maybe we should...that is, if you want to...I feel that it's time to-" he broke off and stared down at her curious face in intense frustration.

"I've never seen you this flustered," she commented, "what are you so nervous about?"

He opened his mouth, shut it, and then unceremoniously thrust the box into her hand.

She blinked at it uncomprehendingly, then opened it and almost dropped it.

"I'm..." she breathed, "I don't know what to say."

"Well, that's a first," he remarked dryly, and immediately wanted to kick himself.

But she smiled and put the ring on, turning it in the light to look at it.

"Well?" he asked after a tense moment.

She shrugged.

"It'll do," she said with a wink.

"Oh, really?" He asked and took her hand gently.

"Yeah," she enveloped him in an embrace, then just as suddenly jumped away from him and started squealing and yelling at the top of her lungs while dancing around the fountain.

"You're going to fall in," he warned her but the sight of her excitement made him laugh happily.

"I don't care!" she yelled, and continued to dance energetically around the fountain. Until she tripped and there was a loud splash.

"Now I care." she added soberly, sitting in the shallow fountain, shivering and shaking her wet hair out of her eyes.

He picked her up, regardless of the wet.

"Brrr."

"I told you so," he remarked as they made their way back to his car.

"Why do I have the feeling that I'm going to hear that phrase from you often?" she asked, admiring her ring.

"I always be here to tell you 'I told you so'," he offered, half sardonically, half sincerely, "as long as you want me to."

"That is an awful thing to say, but I love you too," she answered playfully.

There was a brief silence while he struggled with his own lack of articulation.

"I'm not very good with words," he began uncomfortably, clearing his throat, "I -"

"That's alright," she interrupted, "I know." She kissed his cheek and he shivered.

"Besides," she added, brushing his hair away from his face and tracing the curve of his ear.

"There are more important things to be good at."

He shivered again and she looked at him inquiringly.

"Cold." he explained, and held her more tightly.

Mina smirked.

* * *

That's all. Thanks for reading this little piece of fluff. If you liked it, let me know. If there's something you think I should improve on - let me know! Thanks. - A.C.


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